Seagate Unveils 6.9TB Platters, Promises 69TB Drives by 2030

BREAKING: Seagate has just announced a groundbreaking advancement in hard drive technology, successfully developing 6.9TB platters in its laboratory. This innovation could lead to the production of hard drives with capacities reaching between 55TB and 69TB by the year 2030, a major leap from current models.

The new platters utilize Seagate’s cutting-edge heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology, which significantly enhances data storage density. Currently, Seagate’s outgoing 30TB drives are composed of ten 3TB platters. The ability to double this capacity without expanding the physical size of the drives represents a critical evolution in data storage solutions.

While these experimental platters are not expected to hit the market until around 2030, Seagate is set to begin production of intermediate platters—specifically 4TB, 5TB, and 6TB—from 2027 to 2029. This phased approach will gradually introduce higher capacities to consumers and enterprises alike.

Seagate’s announcement comes amid rising demand for hard drives driven by the booming AI industry, which has led to extended backorders for enterprise-class storage solutions. As data centers continue to rely on high-capacity drives for efficient data management, the significance of Seagate’s advancements cannot be overstated.

In comparison, Toshiba plans to release a 40TB HDD in 2027, but industry experts suggest that this may be insufficient in the face of Seagate’s potential offerings. Furthermore, the recent launch of the 32TB WD Ultrastar DC HC690 in Russia, priced at an astonishing $1,900, highlights the competitive landscape in high-capacity storage.

Seagate’s HAMR technology enhances recording precision while reducing media grain size, allowing for more efficient data storage. This is a game changer for both consumer and enterprise markets, as it paves the way for the possibility of petabyte-sized drives by 2040.

The implications of these advancements are profound, particularly for data centers and archival storage systems that depend on hard drives for their reliability and cost-effectiveness. Although solid-state drives (SSDs) are gaining popularity, hard drives continue to be the backbone of large-scale storage solutions due to their unparalleled capacity per dollar.

As Seagate moves forward with its development timeline, industry watchers and consumers alike will be eagerly anticipating the impact of these new platters on the market. The future of data storage is evolving rapidly, and Seagate’s innovations are poised to redefine what is possible in the realm of hard drives.

Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story as we continue to monitor Seagate’s progress and the broader impact on the storage industry. Follow us for the latest news and insights on technology and innovation.